Sale v Leicester

[Old Hob]

It was not just the players away at the RWC it was the 9 or so injured. I think that at one point we were down 23 players.

[Granby]

Maybe not the last chance saloon, but this is the sort of game we must get a result in if we hope to make the top 4. In other years coming away with the LBP from a wet and cold Stockport would have been considered not too bad. Given the sterner tests ahead, this is the sort of tricky game we need to win.

[BJ.]

SO ....(and I know it's a perennial question)what pubs will be showing the match on ESPN? Anybody know for certain so that we're not trailing around the county with minutes to spare. Please.

Have you found any that have showed ESPN matches in the past on a Friday night?

[Soggypitch]

The Plough at Bruntingthorpe will almost certainly be showing the match live.
Afterwards go to the Cock at Peatling Magna, another good rugby pub.

[smell.com]

Rose & crown houghton on the hill, give Graham a ring.

[4071]

Sale is the last chance saloon? Thoughtful article (yes, I know the author is not a friend of Tigers),about Cockerill's view of what tigers have to do to make the playoffs, and asks why Tigers seem to have been less prepared than Sale for example, who lost 10 to WC.

http://tinyurl.com/69xhyhd

Sale's 10 lost players included a handful who would not be expected to make the match-day squad anyway (and even though they are all back and available now some of them haven't). Sale were also helped by the fact that on top of their 10 WC absentees, they have only had 2-3 other players ruled out by injury.

Leicester were missing 12 players at the WC, all of whom would expect to make the matchday squad, and - for much of the season - another 7-10 to injury. That makes a massive difference.

[sam16111986]

SO ....(and I know it's a perennial question)what pubs will be showing the match on ESPN? Anybody know for certain so that we're not trailing around the county with minutes to spare. Please.

The Railway in Shepshed (just off Junction 23) will show it. The beer is reasonably priced as well.

[4071]

I do get fed up with people like Steve Diamond claiming how many players they have at the WC when some had never played for them and others weren't first XV;

That's a fair point. Leicester lost 12 players to the WC who had all been at the club the previous season. Every one of them was a player that had to be covered during this absence (and some of the call-ups were rather unexpected - Waldrom and Geordan Murphy, for example).

Sale's 10 World Cup absentees included Alasdair Dickinson, Tony Buckley, Andrie Ostrikov, Andy Powell, Richie Vernon, Tasea Lavea and Johnny Leota. Every one of them was a new signing (so not a player who had to be covered as a result of unexpected absence) and most of them were signed in the first place with Sale aware that they were going to the WC.

They actually lost just THREE of last season's squad to WC call-ups - Sheridan, Lewaravu and Cueto.

[PM76]

Leicester were missing 12 players at the WC, all of whom would expect to make the matchday squad, and - for much of the season - another 7-10 to injury. That makes a massive difference.

In many ways the injured players hit us just as hard as the RWC call-ups. Pre RWC when people were picking sides on here and when Cockers would have been doing the same they included the likes of Crane, Newby, White, Skivington, Smith, Allen, Hamilton etc. who were injured for some if not all of the games.

Tigers also lost the core of the side; Castro/ Cole, Deacon, Croft, Youngs, Flood, M. Tuilagi and Murphy are in many ways the core players that the side really struggles without whereas Quins for example could still call upon Evans, Robshaw, Monye, Turner- Hall, Robson and Brown and only really lost Easter and Care who could be considered their key players. That is also the case for Sarries, Sale, Exeter, Wasps etc.

[Isambard]

Yes but we still were not good enough.

We knew how mnay we would lose to the RWC and approx for how long.

We were aware of long term injuries

Plus the averages for injuries in pre-season and in the first few weeks of the season.

Seems very un Tigers to me to be making excuses for not being good enough. All this rot about the endof the season is useless. I paid to watch all the season and the players and backroom staff do too.

[PAW]

The website says all internationals are available (bar known injuries to Manu & Youngs), so where is Deacs? Not even on the bench?
There were some rumours of retirement post world cup. Anything more been said?

[Isambard]

A good win with a bonus point on a dry and windfree night, unless of course you were sitting behind the man who was sitting behind the baked beans stall.lol.

[DickyP]

Two glaring errors in today's Independent report - makes you wonder if the reporter Simon Turnbull watched the game, or pays any attention to rugby.

Read report here

According to him only 3 of the tries were scored by returning RWC players, and "Geordan Murphy hesitated and Tom Brady dotted the ball down, only for the television match official to rule that the Sale wing had ventured into touch. ", whereas in fact he never went near touch or, far more importantly, actually touched the ball!

[WhitecapTiger]

Two glaring errors in today's Independent report - makes you wonder if the reporter Simon Turnbull watched the game, or pays any attention to rugby.

Read report here

According to him only 3 of the tries were scored by returning RWC players, and "Geordan Murphy hesitated and Tom Brady dotted the ball down, only for the television match official to rule that the Sale wing had ventured into touch. ", whereas in fact he never went near touch or, far more importantly, actually touched the ball!

Maybe he's meaning that Castro, Flood and Ayerza were returning in their first Premiership match since RWC11? Alex T had already played in the league match Vs Harlequins since returning. And I thought the Brady 'non-try' was disallowed because he'd knocked the ball on? Hence he must've touched it? (Still incorrectly reported though )